Ax Definition & Meaning

American

More Idioms

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms ax 1 American [aks] / æks / Or axe

noun

plural

axes

1. an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc.

2. Jazz Slang. any musical instrument.

3. Informal. the ax,

   1. dismissal from employment.

      to get the ax.

   2. expulsion from school.

   3. rejection by a lover, friend, etc..

      His girlfriend gave him the ax.

   4. any usually summary removal or curtailment.

verb (used with object)

axed, axing

1. to shape or trim with an ax.

2. to chop, split, destroy, break open, etc., with an ax.

   The firemen had to ax the door to reach the fire.

3. Informal. to dismiss, restrict, or destroy brutally, as if with an ax.

   The main office axed those in the field who didn't meet their quota. Congress axed the budget.

idioms

1. have an ax to grind, to have a personal or selfish motive.

   His interest may be sincere, but I suspect he has an ax to grind.

ax- 2 American

1. variant of axi-, especially before a vowel.

ax. 3 American

abbreviation

1. axiom.

ax More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing ax

• get the ax

Other Word Forms

• axlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of ax

before 1000; Middle English; ax ( e ), ex ( e ), Old English æx, æces; akin to Gothic aquizi, Old Norse øx, ǫx, Old High German acc ( h ) us, a ( c ) kus ( German Axt ), Middle High German plural exa < Germanic *akwiz-, akuz-, aksi- ≪ *ákəs, áks-; Latin ascia (< *acsiā ), Greek axī́nē; < Indo-European *ag-s-

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a field where buzzards were flying overhead, they used metal probes and pick axes and shovels in their search for remains.

From BBC

Pulling her end of a crosscut saw, and swinging the heavy blade of a double-bitted ax, she helped Papa clear the land.

From Literature

In some cases, horizontal placement of circles on the date axes is approximated to accommodate others within the same range.

From The Wall Street Journal

He carried his pack and the extra weight of a heavy rope, a small ax, and their supply of torches with ease.

From Literature

In addition to clothing that protects against the wind and cold, anyone attempting to climb steep terrain covered in snow and ice should have mountaineering boots, heavy metal crampons and an ice ax.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.